CD Reviews

Good album, but not classic Eloy

Zeus Pendragon | 02/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Performance marks the beginning of a gap between the classic Eloy (up until Time to Turn) and four albums that in fact are quite good musically and thematically but don't sound like classic Eloy (Performance, Metromania, Ra & Destination)

Of these four Performance is the one that stands farthest from Eloy. On one hand the sound is quite heavy (Shadow and Light) and on the other hand it's quite poppy and simple (In Disguise, Surrender, Fools) There is an instrumental piece called Mirador where a lot of keyboard and synth goes on, but it seems out of place among the other tracks. Heartbeat and A Broken Frame are closer to the classic Eloy sound with some heavier stuff in them.

Lyrically it's also different from other Eloy albums. Lyrics no longer belong to a story that ties all tracks together but are more simple and down to earth.

Despite all of this, it is still a recomendable album. Shadow and Light is incredible, heavy, pumping, intense, a lot of changes and the bass playing is really top notch. Heartbeat and A Broken Frame are also highlights. Fools features some good guitar and keyboard stuff and the other tracks are much more simple but good nevertheless. Frank's singing is quite powerful here and the vocal arrangements are good.

If you like good music you will like this, if you're looking for albums like Ocean, Ocean 2 or Planets you may feel a little disappointed. Anyway, it is worth give it a try."